Klein, Nancy

About the author: A graduate of Denison University, Nancy D. Klein received her MA from Middlebury College and her PhD from Cornell University. Klein has presented numerous papers on Mme. De Villedieu’s writings at conferences. She has published in profes

1999 0-7734-7867-1Klein’s book provides the opportunity to read in English the innovative narratives of an illustrious woman author who played a prominent role on the literary scene in France during the reign of Louis XIV. Marie-Catherine de Desjardins de Villedieu produced over ten volumes of works that include plays, poetry, and narrative fictions. Today’s critics attribute Villedieu with having created a new genre of literature, the ‘nouvelle galante’, in which the author recounts a series of gallant episodes, rather than the heroic actions so popular in the adventure stories of the first half of the seventeenth century.